Comments on international news, scientific, political and philosophical musings, poems, fictions, music and book reviews.

Saturday, January 28, 2017

First They Came For ...

The problem is not only the disgraceful Muslim ban, the shameful wall, the taking away of privacy protection from many immigrants and non immigrants. It is also the ingrained belief in many that this banning decree only applies to those people from hand picked nations. History has the abundance of similar scenarios when the most vulnerable segments of the world were barred from leaving the persecutions of despot rulers. Many of them perished, children, women, men, emaciated, degraded to the utmost bottom level of a concerted dehumanization process. Yesterday's Remembrance Day for the Holocaust victims is one of the painful reminders of our world's blunder of the past.

My heart goes out to the countless millions in America, Europe and many other places, where the unmistakable xenophobia is rising in alarming speed. The ironic part is that the most victims of the violence, wars and senseless terrorism are the Muslims. They are the ones along with the other minorities trying desperately leaving the war and violence ravaged lands, mama and papa clinging to their toddler son and daughter, while grandma and grandpa hobbling along the ruinous roads and crumbled buildings.

Staying silent in the face of flagrant oppression is not an option as it tantamount to be complicit with the narcissistic oppressors. Being fearful to utter protestation is not fruitful either, and changing colour like a chameleon is ridiculously ineffective in the end, as Pastor Niemoller had captured it so eloquently many years ago during Hitler's time of inglorious prowess:

"First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—Because I was not a Socialist.Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—

Because I was not a Trade Unionist.Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—

Because I was not a Jew.Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

This can be rephrased in contemporary terms:

First they came for the natives, and I did not speak out --Because I was not native

Then they came for the Blacks, and I did not speak out --Because I was not Black

Then they came for the Mexicans, and I did not speak out --Because I was not Mexican

Then they came for the disabled, and I did not speak out --Because I was not disabled

Then they came for the gay, lesbian and transgender, and I did not speak out --Because I was not gay, lesbian or transgender

Then they came for the protesting women, and I did not speak out -- Because I was not woman

Then they came for the poor white, and I did not speak out --Because I was not poor white

Then they came for the Muslim, and I did not speak out --Because I was not Muslim

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

Also, the Holocaust survivor Victor Frankl's immortal words from Man's Search for Meaning should be a constant reminder for our easily distracted and subdued souls:

"Danger only threatens when a political system sends those not-decent people, i.e., the negative element of a nation, to the top. And no nation is immune from doing this, and in this respect every nation is in principle capable of a Holocaust!"

"only two types of politicians: the first are those who believe that the end justifies the means, and that could be any means . . . While the other type of politician knows very well that there are means that could desecrate the holiest end. And it is this type of politician whom I trust"

"What then is man? Thus we ask the question again. He is a being that always decides what it is. A being that has within it at one and the same time the possibility of sinking to the level of an animal or of soaring to a life of near-holiness. Man is that being which invented the gas chambers; but he is at the same time that being which walked with head held high into these very same gas chambers".

May the world and its trusted leaders and citizenry see the light of compassion before another terrible blunder is made.